Physics has evolved as a discipline by asking fundamental questions about the universe. While some of the questions regarding the beginning and end of the universe are well known and publicized, it is not commonly known that asking similar questions at or above the atomic level have lead to major scientific revolutions. I will describe in this talk how condensed matter physics at sizes approaching atomic dimensions (“nanostructures”) is revolutionizing basic research in physics, chemistry and biology. When the size of a material approaches that of an atom its properties change radically. New, yet unobserved properties appear caused by the presence of atoms on the surface and by the fact that many of the electrons reside outside these nanostructures. For instance; magnetic materials cease to be so, gold becomes chemically active, the sensitivity of oxides to light increases greatly, and materials with properties non-existent in nature may be synthesized. The new physics evolving from this research may lead to novel applications which cannot be predicted at present, but which surely will revolutionize electronics, medicine, and engineering. This talk, accessible to non-experts, will be dedicated to highlighting the recent scientific advances in the field and possible new directions.

Prof. Schuller, a multiple award winning physicist and movie producer, will use movies and humor to illustrate difficult concepts and results in Nanoscience.

Work supported by the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation.

Prof. Ivan K. Schuller, of the Physics Department, the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2) and the Center for Advanced Nanoscience (CAN) at the University of California-San Diego, is a Solid State Physicist. A Fellow of the American Physical Society and a member of the Chilean, Spanish and Belgian Academies of Sciences, he has won many awards such as the American Physical Society’s Wheatley (1999) and Adler Awards (2003), the German von Humbold prize (2002), the Materials Research Society Medal (2004), the Lawrence Award from the US Department of Energy (2005), a Honoris Causa Doctorate (2005) from the Spanish Universidad Complutense the largest European University, the Somiya Award from the International Union of Materials Research Societies (2008) and the UCSD Academic Senate Research Lectureship in Science, Engineering and Medicine (2008). He has published more than 480 technical papers and 20 patents, has given more than 350 invited lectures at international conferences and is one of the 100 most cited physicists (out of 500,000) in the last 15 years. Prof. Schuller’s work was mentioned in the justification for the 2007 Nobel Prize as a precursor to the discovery of Giant Magnetoresistance.

Professor Ivan Schuller is a pioneer in thin film nanostructures and superlattices. He has been awarded several prestigious academic honors including the DOE D.O. Lawrence Award, APS Adler Award, and the MRS Medal. His a member of the Academies of Science (Chile, Spain, Belgium, Colombia), received a Doctorate Honoris Causa-Universidad Complutense, and is an EMMY award winner.